November 2018

SPECIAL REPORT EXCLUSIVE: Ambassadors Discuss Complexities of the Rohingya Crisis A recent U.N. report joins the chorus of international condemnation of Myanmar's military for the atrocities committed against the country's Rohingya minority. In an exclusive in-depth report, The Washington Diplomat spoke to ambassadors from the U.S., European Union and Japan about this delicate balancing act. Read More

Cover Story Tiny but Strategic Djibouti Dreams Of Becoming East African Powerhouse A country few Americans have ever heard of is home to the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa, located just a few miles from China's first overseas military base. In fact, Djibouti has taken advantage of its geostrategic location to become a hub of counterterrorism operations, global shipping, economic growth and regional stability. Read More

People of World Influence Former Adviser to Obama, Trump Discusses U.S. and Latin America From corruption scandals to migration crises to Venezuela's epic meltdown, the Latin America portfolio is a tough one for anyone to tackle — let alone someone who's worked for two bosses with polar-opposite viewpoints. But Fernando Cutz managed to do just that, and come out on the other side relatively unscathed. Read More

Getting Firm on China U.S. Targets China By Cracking Down on Foreign Investment The Treasury Department began testing a new law to strengthen a little-known government agency so as to turn the screws on a well-known geopolitical adversary. The agency is the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, and the adversary is China. Read More

Political Paradox Drop in EU Migrant Arrivals Hasn't Dented Popularity of Populists The electoral successes that far-right, anti-immigrant political parties across Europe have achieved this year is paradoxical given that the flood of refugees from the Middle East and Africa has abated considerably from its peak in 2015. Read More

U.S. Midterm Roadmap Midterm Elections Set to Shake Up Tumultuous Political Landscape To suss out the key races, issues and personalities that will determine the political makeup of the 116th Congress and governorships of 36 U.S. states, Cogent Strategies has created a midterm roadmap to guide us through what is sure to be another momentous political contest. Read More

Global Vantage Point Op-Ed: Trump's New LGBTI Policy Places Burden on Foreign Diplomats On Oct. 1, the Trump administration began denying visas for same-sex partners of diplomats working at the United Nations in New York. Given the current global trends and the inability for many same-sex partners to marry, this new U.S. government policy places an undue burden on foreign diplomats appointed by their countries to work at the U.N. Read More

Nordic Vantage Point Op-Ed: U.S. Visit of Viking Ship Signifies Importance of Oceans For 10 days last month, the world's largest sailing Viking ship was docked at The Wharf in Washington, D.C. Having crossed the Atlantic from Norway, the Draken Harald Hårfagre served as a reminder to people in the nation's capital of the opportunities offered by the world's oceans. Read More

Diplomatic Appointments Diplomatic Spotlight Classifieds Real Estate Classifieds

Languages

Czech German Mandarin

Danish Indonesian Russian

English Japanese Spanish

French Korean Swiss-German

 

Czech

Daisies
(Sedmirkrasky)

Directed by Věra Chytilová
(Czechoslovakia, 1966, 76 min.)

An absurdist, anarchic farce, this is probably the single boldest film to emerge from the Czech New Wave during the Prague Spring moment of the late 1960s. Two young women, both named Marie, decide that the state of society is beneath contempt, and stage a series of pranks to signal their refusal to take any of its institutions seriously (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Nov. 4 to 7

Those Wonderful Years That Sucked
(Bájecná léta pod psa)

Directed by Petr Nikolaev
(Czech Republic, 1997, 109 min.)

The bittersweet comedy, adapted from a novel by Michal Viewegh, chronicles the life of a Czech family from the 1960s to just after the Velvet Revolution. At the forefront are Milena, a lawyer who acts on stage in her spare time, her husband Ales, a government worker, and their son Kvido.

Bistro Bohem
Tue., Nov. 20, 7 p.m.

 

Danish

Becoming Astrid
(Unga Astrid)

Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen
(Sweden/Denmark, 2-18, 123 min.)

Astrid Lindgren, the author of numerous children's books and creator of Pippi Longstocking, struggles for independence in 1920s Sweden. Dying of boredom on her strict family's farm, she entertains her many siblings with tall tales, roaming the forests and fields instead of doing her chores. She jumps at the chance to work at the local newspaper office, where she is romanced by the handsome, married, but soon-to-be-divorced editor Blomberg. Learning some hard life lessons, Astrid nevertheless finds within herself the courage to carry on, creating new worlds through her empathy and talent for storytelling (Danish and Swedish).

Landmark's Theatres
Opens Fri., Nov. 30

The Guilty
(Den skyldige)

Directed by Gustav Möller
(Denmark, 2018, 85 min.)

Disgraced former street cop Asger is manning the emergency call center, where he expects a sleepy beat. That all changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a woman kidnapped by her troubled ex-husband. The woman disconnects abruptly, but Asger springs into action. Confined to the call center, forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of the crime slowly becomes more clear, he uses every bit of his intuition and skill to try to find and save her.

Landmark's E Street Cinema

 

English

22 July

Directed by Paul Greengrass
(Norway/Iceland/U.S., 2018, 143 min.)

In Norway on July 22, 2011, right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 young people attending a Labour Party Youth Camp on Utøya Island outside of Oslo. This three-part story looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.

Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Beautiful Boy

Directed by Felix Van Groeningen
(U.S., 2018, 120 min.)

Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, "Beautiful Boy" chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.

Angelika Mosaic
Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Bohemian Rhapsody

Directed by Bryan Singer
(U.K./U.S., 2018, 134 min.)

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet.

Angelika Mosaic
Angelika Pop-Up
Opens Fri., Nov. 2

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Directed by Marielle Heller
(U.S., 2018, 106 min.)

Melissa McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling celebrity biographer who finds herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace, so she turns her art form to deception.

Angelika Mosaic
Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Colette

Directed by Wash Westmoreland
(U.K./Hungary/U.S., 2019, 111 min.)

After marrying a successful Parisian writer Willy, Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. Colette's fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression.

Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Crazy Rich Asians

Directed by Jon M. Chu

(U.S., 2018, 120 min.)

New Yorker Rachel accompanies her longtime boyfriend Nick to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country's wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors (English, Mandarin and Cantonese).

Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

At Eternity's Gate

Directed by Julian Schnabel
(U.K./France/U.S., 2018, 110 min.)

This film looks at the life of painter Vincent van Gogh during the time he lived in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, France (English and French).

Angelika Mosaic
Opens Fri., Nov. 21

Fahrenheit 11/9

Directed by Michael Moore
(U.S., 2018, 128 min.)

Filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald J. Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements.

Landmark's E Street Cinema

The Favourite

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
(Ireland/U.K./U.S., 2018, 119 min.)

In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.

Opens Fri., Nov. 30

First Man

Directed by Damien Chazelle
(U.S., 2018, 141 min.)

This biopic looks at the life of the astronaut Neil Armstrong and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Angelika Mosaic
Angelika Pop-Up
Atlantic Plumbing Cinema
Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema

Free Solo

Directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
(U.S., 2018, 100 min.)

Follow Alex Honnold as he becomes the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000ft high El Capitan Wall. With no ropes or safety gear, he completed arguably the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

Angelika Mosaic

Gavagai

Directed by Rob Tregenza
(Norway/Canada/Germany, 2018, 90 min.)

German businessman Carsten travels to Norway to translate poems by his late wife. He hires Niko, a down-on-his-luck tour guide, to drive him to the poet's home. On the road, the ghost of Carsten's wife appears to him, while Niko struggles with the sudden consequences of his girlfriend's pregnancy as the two men realize the transforming power of love, the limits of language and the human need for friendship.

The Avalon Theatre
Wed., Nov. 18, 8 p.m.

The Happy Prince

Directed by Rupert Everett
(U.K./Belgium/Italy/Germany, 2018, 105 min.)

The last days of Oscar Wilde — and the ghosts that haunted them — are vividly evoked in Rupert Everett's directorial debut. Everett gives a career defining performance as Wilde, physically and emotionally embodying the literary genius as he lives out his last days in exile in Europe. As the film travels through Wilde's final act and journeys through England, France and Italy, desire and loyalty face off, the transience of lust is laid bare and the true riches of love are revealed.

Angelika Mosaic
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Maria by Callas

Directed by Tom Volf
(France, 2018, 113 min.)

See the life of famed Greek-American opera singer Maria Callas in this documentary as she tells it in her own words. Tom Volf creates a portrait of the late performer through archival footage, recordings, photos and personal films (English, French and Italian).

The Avalon Theatre
Opens Fri., Nov. 9

My Brilliant Career

Directed by Gillian Armstrong
(Australia, 1979, 100 min.)

This period piece played a key role in popularizing the Australian New Wave around the world. Viewers were enchanted with its breathtaking views of the Australian landscape while feminists found a new heroine in the fiercely independent Sybylla, who rejects marriage to find work she considers more meaningful (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Nov. 9 to 15

On Her Shoulders

Directed by Alexandria Bombach
(U.S., 2018, 95 min.)

Twenty-three-year-old human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad's life is a dizzying array of exhausting undertakings — from giving testimony before the U.N. to visiting refugee camps to soul-bearing media interviews. Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows this strong-willed young woman, who survived the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaped the hands of the Islamic State to become a relentless beacon of hope for her people, even when at times she longs to lay aside this monumental burden and simply have an ordinary life (English and Arabic).

West End Cinema
Opens Fri., Nov. 2

The Old Man & the Gun

Directed by David Lowery
(U.S., 2018, 93 min.)

Based on a true story, Forrest Tucker makes his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 and goes onto an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.

Angelika Mosaic
Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Private Life

Directed by Tamara Jenkins
(U.S., 2018, 127 min.)

Richard and Rachel, a couple in the throes of infertility, try to maintain their marriage as they descend deeper and deeper into the weird world of assisted reproduction and domestic adoption. When their doctor suggests third party reproduction, they bristle. But when Sadie, a recent college drop out, re-enters their life, they reconsider.

West End Cinema

Scarlet Diva

Directed by Asia Argento
(Italy, 2000, 91 min.)

Actress-turned-filmmaker Asia Argento made her directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical portrait of a young actress who, despite her popularity and success, experiences despair and degradation at the hands of an abusive industry. Her harrowing journey toward redemption leads her on a sordid spree of excess across America and Europe while trying to recapture her innocence and find true love (English, Italian and French; part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., Nov. 17, 10:30 p.m.,
Tue., Nov. 20, 9:20 p.m.

Sir

Directed by Rohena Gera
(India/France, 2018, 99 min.)

Recently widowed Ratna decides to move from her small rural village to take a job in the big city as a live-in housekeeper for Ashwin, an architect from an upper-crust Mumbai family. When Ashwin is jilted by his equally upper-crust fiancé, he slowly builds a connection with Ratna, who has big dreams and an infectious sense of optimism. As the pair connect, however, unspoken — and spoken — class and gender barriers come into play (English and Hindi; part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Mon., Nov. 19, 7 p.m.,
Wed., Nov. 21, 7 p.m.

The Sisters Brothers

Directed by Jacques Audiard
(France/Spain/Romania/U.S., 2018, 121 min.)

In 1850s Oregon, a gold prospector is chased by the infamous duo of assassins, the Sisters Brothers.

Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

Studio 54

Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
(U.S., 2018, 98 min.)

Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism — a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club's hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Tea with the Dames

Directed by Roger Michell
(U.K., 2018, 84 min.)

Dames Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith have let the cameras in on a friendship that goes back more than half a century. The four acting greats discuss their careers and reminisce about their humble beginnings in the theater.

Landmark's E Street Cinema

Viper Club

Directed by Maryam Keshavarz
(U.S., 2018, 109 min.)

A war correspondent gets taken hostage while on assignment, prompting his mother, impatient with the government's lack of concern, to take matters into her own hands.

Angelika Mosaic
Opens Fri., Nov. 2

The Wife

Directed by Björn Runge
(Sweden/U.S./U.K., 2018, 100 min.)

After nearly 40 years of marriage, Joan and Joe Castleman (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm and diplomacy into the private role of Great Man's Wife. As Joe is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize, this film interweaves the story of the couple's youthful passion and ambition with a portrait of a marriage, 30-plus years later, filled with shared compromises, secrets, betrayals and mutual love.

Angelika Pop-Up
Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
West End Cinema

Wildlife

Directed by Paul Dano
(U.S., 2018, 104 min.)

In 1960s Montana, an unemployed father decides to join the cause of fighting a nearby wildfire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves. Suddenly forced into the role of an adult, 14-year-old Joe witnesses his mother's struggle as she tries to keep her head above water.

Landmark's Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark's E Street Cinema

 

French

Fatma 75

Directed by Selma Baccar
(Tunisia, 1976, 60 min.)

Both a feminist essay-film and the first in a series of powerful stories about strong female figures in the country, this documentary was made to mark the U.N. International Year of the Woman in 1975. Recounting the evolution of the status of women in Tunisia from 1930 onward, "Fatma 75" explores both the fight for female emancipation and Tunisia's wider struggle for independence (French and Arabic; (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Thu., Nov. 8, 7:15 p.m.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels

Directed by Chantal Akerman
(Belgium/France, 1975, 201 min.)

A singular work in film history, Chantal Akerman's film meticulously details, with a sense of impending doom, the daily routine of a middle-aged widow — whose chores include making the beds, cooking dinner for her son and turning the occasional trick (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.

One Sings, The Other Doesn't
(L'une chante, l'autre pas)

Directed by Agnès Varda
(France, 1977, 120 min.)

When 17-year-old Pauline helps struggling mother of two Suzanne procure the money for an abortion, a deep bond forms between the two, one that endures over the course of more than a decade as each searches for her place in the world (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Nov. 4 to 8

Peppermint Soda

Directed by Diane Kurys
(France, 1977, 101 min.)

Anne and Frederique are sisters entering their teen years in 1963 France, torn between divorced parents and struggling with the confines of their strict school. Along the way, they undergo an awakening, both political and romantic (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., Nov. 10, 11 a.m.,
Sun., Nov. 11, 11 a.m.

Raw

Directed by Julia Ducournau
(France/Belgium, 2016, 99 min.)

Sixteen-year-old Justine is a shy, vegetarian student at a veterinary college, where she finds herself in the shadow of her distant older sister. When Justine develops an insatiable lust for flesh as the result of a gruesome hazing ritual, this grisly and gory tale of a cannibalistic coming-of-age quickly turns into a bold and bloody exploration of womanhood (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Fri., Nov. 2, 9:45 p.m.,
Tue., Nov. 6, 10 p.m.

Sofia

Directed by Meryem Benm'Barek-Aloïsi
(France/Qatar, 2018, 80 min.)

When a post-dinner stomach pain turns out to be the onset of labor, 20-year-old Sofia unexpectedly bears a child out of wedlock, which is illegal in Morocco, and is thrown into an impossible position where, with the help of her cousin, she must track down her baby's father, dodge arrest and placate her family — all against the clock, and with a newborn child in tow (French and Arabic; part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Nov. 16 to 21

German

3 Days in Quiberon
(3 Tage in Quiberon)

Directed by Emily Atef
(Germany/Austria/France, 2018, 115 min.)

Deeply private and in precarious health, enigmatic and elusive actress Romy Schneider grants an interview and portrait session to a journalist and a photographer, despite her misgivings about the press. What unfolds over three days at a French seaside health retreat is a fascinating portrait of the legendary actress (part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Thu., Nov. 1, 7 p.m.

Back for Good

Directed by Mia Spengler
(Germany, 2018)

After a publicity stunt that involved a stay in rehab, former reality TV star Angie must move back in with her mother and take care of her sister, who is going through the struggles of adolescence. As she reconnects with her family, Angie must decide whether to stay with them or return to the cutthroat world of reality television (part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Fri., Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m.

A Dysfunctional Cat
(Die defekte Katze)

Directed by Susan Gordanshekan
(Germany, 2018, 93 min.)

It wasn't fate that brought Mina and Kian together, but a professional matchmaker. After their wedding, Mina moves from Iran to Germany, where Kian works as a surgeon. What ensues is the newlyweds' attempt to make their traditional Iranian marriage work in German society (German, Farsi and English; part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Sun., Nov. 4, 2 p.m.

In the Aisles
(In den Gängen)

Directed by Thomas Stuber
(Germany, 2018, 125 min.)

After losing his job, shy and introverted Christian discovers love, friendship and a whole new mysterious world between the surprisingly intriguing aisles of a wholesale market (part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Sun., Nov. 4, 3:45 p.m.

Mademoiselle Paradis
(Licht)

Directed by Barbara Albert
(Austria/Germany, 2018, 97 min.)

Set in 18th-century Vienna, this stunning period piece centers on 18-year-old Maria, a pianist of exceptional talent who has been blind since the age of 3. After countless failed attempts to restore her sight, her overbearing parents decide to pursue a controversial "miracle doctor." But when her treatments begin to succeed, Maria notices that as her sight is returning, her musical virtuosity is declining (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Thu., Nov. 15, 7:15 p.m.

Magical Mystery

Directed by Arne Feldhusen
(Germany, 2017, 111 min.)

Ex-artist Karl Schmidt lives a quiet life after suffering a nervous breakdown. When his old friends from the Berlin techno scene ask him to join them on their tour, he suddenly finds himself on a whirlwind techno journey through 1990s Germany that triggers old anxieties and fosters new personal growth (part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Sat., Nov. 3, 8:30 p.m.

The Silent Revolution
(Das schweigende Klassenzimmer)

Directed by Lars Kraume
(Germany, 2018, 111 min.)

A classroom in 1956 East Germany holds a minute of silence for the victims of a violently suppressed uprising in Budapest. The consequences of this act will affect their school, the community, and the children themselves more than they can ever imagine (German and Russian; part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Sun., Nov. 4, 7 p.m.

 

Indonesian

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
(Marlina si pembunuh dalam empat babak)

Directed by Mouly Surya
(Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand, 2017, 93 min.)

Marlina is a young widow living alone in a remote farmhouse with the embalmed corpse of her husband. When a band of robbers, entitled by centuries of male domination, arrives to steal her livestock, seize her possessions and rape her, Marlina thinks fast and acts even faster — and the next day sees her hitting the road on a journey of empowerment and redemption (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Fri., Nov. 9, 9:45 p.m.,
Sun., Nov. 11, 9:15 p.m.

 

Japanese

Harakiri

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
(Japan, 1962, 133 min.)

After his clan collapses, an unemployed samurai arrives at Lord Iyi's manor, begging for permission to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi's clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand—but they have underestimated his beliefs.

Freer Gallery of Art
Wed., Nov. 7, 2 p.m.

Shoplifters
(Manbiki kazoku)

Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda
(Japan, 2018, 121 min.)

A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. The unusual routine is about to change from carefree and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic, however, as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered teenage girl.

The Avalon Theatre
Opens Fri., Nov. 30

 

Korean

Burning

Directed by Chang-dong Lee
(South Korea, 2018, 148 min.)

A part-time worker is asked by his girlfriend to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. She returns with a mysterious, rich man, only to vanish shortly afterward.

Angelika Mosaic
Opens Fri., Nov. 9

 

Mandarin

Girls Always Happy

Directed by Yang Mingming
(China, 2018, 117 min.)

Wu, a writer in her late 20s, elegantly yet playfully riding a scooter through the maze of Beijing alleys crammed with lower-class courtyard houses. She also glides over the equally winding paths of her ambivalent relationship with her mother as the two women bicker, take care of a grandfather who has not yet written his will and argue about how to deal with useless, pompous, cowardly or "disgusting" men.

Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Nov. 4, 1 p.m.

An Elephant Sitting Still

Directed by Hu Bo
(China, 2018, 230 min.)

In a zoo in the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli sits an equable elephant, solemnly oblivious to every happening in the world around it. Reports of the creature's defiant indifference pass between the four central characters like secret knowledge, a possible clue for escaping their own enclosing fates.

Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Nov. 18, 1 p.m.

A Family Tour

Directed by Ying Liang
(Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore/Malaysia, 2018, 108 min.)

(Mandarin, Taiwanese and Cantonese).

In Ying Liang's semiautobiographical feature, a Chinese filmmaker living in exile with her husband and young son in Hong Kong after her last film ran afoul of the mainland authorities. When she is invited to a film festival in Taiwan, she books her ailing mother on a guided tour of the island so she can see her grandson for the first time and her daughter for perhaps the last.

Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Nov. 11, 2 p.m.

Long Day's Journey into Night

Directed by Bi Gan
(China, 2018, 133 min.)

Mysterious drifter Hongwu journeys back to Kaili, China, in search of his long-lost lover. As she proves elusive, Hongwu retreats into the past, which impinges on the present through fragmentary flashbacks and enigmatic reveries delivered in voiceover.

Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., Nov. 2, 7 p.m.

The Swim

Directed by He Xiangyu
(China, 2017, 96 min.)

The bucolic landscapes in the Chinese town of Kuandian are haunted by a hidden history. This past is brought to light through interviews with Chinese veterans of the Korean war and North Korean defectors who have sought a better life in China, including women who were deceived by human traffickers and sold as wives to Chinese men.

Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Nov. 4, 3:30 p.m.

The Widowed Witch

Directed by Cai Chengjie
(China, 2018, 120 min.)

After being violently revived by a shaman and raped by her uncle, widowed Erhao decides enough is enough and leaves town in a dilapidated camper van. In the course of her travels, she meets a bedridden old shaman whose ability to walk is restored after Erhao accidentally leaves him in a bath overnight. His miraculous recovery convinces the locals that Erhao is a witch, inspiring both awe and revulsion. While Erhao does seem to possess magical powers, perhaps her greatest ability is to manipulate the distrust, greed and superstition that seem to infect everyone she meets.

Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., Nov. 9, 7 p.m.

 

Russian

Wings

Directed by Larisa Shepitko
(U.S.S.R., 1966, 85 min.)

For her first feature after graduating from the All-Russian State Institute for Cinematography, Ukrainian filmmaker Larisa Shepitko trained her lens on the fascinating Russian character actress Maya Bulgakova, who gives a marvelous performance as a once-heroic Russian fighter-pilot now living a quiet, disappointingly ordinary life as a school principal (part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre

Nov. 2 to 8

 

Spanish

El Angel

Directed by Luis Ortega
(Argentina/Spain, 2018, 118 min.)

In 1971 Buenos Aires, Carlitos is an angelic-looking seventeen-year-old with movie star swagger, blond curls and a baby face, who discovers his true calling as a thief. When he meets the handsome, slightly older Ramón, the two embark on a journey of discovery, love and crime, which randomly escalates to murder.

Landmark's Theatres
Opens Fri., Nov. 16

Júlia Ist

Directed by Marta Cruañas
(Spain, 2017, 90 min.)

Júlia is an architecture student from Barcelona who decides to embark on a student exchange year in Berlin. Full of expectations and lacking life experience, Júlia finds herself lost in a cold and grey Berlin. Little by little, however, she builds up her life in Berlin and gets to know who she is in this new context (Spanish, English, Catalan and German; part of the "Films Across Borders: Stories of Women" festival).

AFI Silver Theatre
Tue., Nov. 6, 7:15 p.m.

 

Swiss-German

Blue My Mind

Directed by Lisa Brühlmann
(Switzerland, 2018, 97 min.)

After her family's big move to Zürich, 15-year-old Mia is facing an overwhelming transformation that calls her entire existence into question (part of the Goethe-Institut's 26th annual Film|Neu festival showcasing films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

Landmark's E Street Cinema
Fri., Nov. 2, 6:30 p

EVENT CATEGORIES

Art Music

Dance Theater

Discussions

Fesitvals

 

ART

Through Nov. 2

Jose Gurvich Artworks

The Uruguayan Embassy presents the first solo show of Jose Gurvich in its art space in Washington, D.C. Gurvich, one of the best-known Uruguayan artists, was born in a small village in Lithuania in 1927 to a Jewish family. In the early 1930s, his moved and settled in Montevideo. During Gurvich's formative years, he painted hundreds of still lives, portraits, landscapes and works based on the style of constructive universalism. But from 1964 until his death in 1974, he developed his own artistic language and maturity. The exhibition consists of 160 works on paper and several oil paintings that illustrate the many facets of his repertoire, including his focus on cityscapes, landscapes, couples, Israel, Europe and New York.

Embassy of Uruguay

 

Through Nov. 4

Día de Muertos: Cultural Perspectives

A new generation of Latinx artists explore the Day of the Dead through a new context as they discern, contemplate, mourn and remember in order to process, heal and express their truth. "Día de Muertos" creates a space for viewers to contemplate and share their relationship with death and dying, taboo in America but freely embraced in Latin American cultures. The exhibition simultaneously provides a platform for 12 artists to engage in their own social anthropology, stripping away the commercialism and appropriation that dilutes the significance of the holiday.

Music Center at Strathmore

 

Nov. 4 to Feb. 18

Gordon Parks: New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950

During the 1940s American photographer Gordon Parks (1912–2006) grew from a self-taught photographer making portraits and documenting everyday life in Saint Paul and Chicago to a visionary professional shooting for Ebony, Vogue, Fortune and Life. For the first time, the formative decade of Parks's 60-year career is the focus of an exhibition, which brings together 150 photographs and ephemera.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Nov. 9

Parallel Universes: Paintings by Nora Cherñajovsky

Argentinean artist Nora Cherñajovsky contrasts her paintings with elements of the neoclassical architecture of the Embassy of Argentina's art gallery space, with its oval shape and decorative boiserie on the walls. She investigates the polarities and contradictions between the order of the architecture and the chaos of the organic. The result is seven pictorial universes that break classical order with fragmented, geometric forms.

Embassy of Argentina

 

Nov. 10 to Dec. 16

Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World

This display highlights a selection of artists published in Tribe, a magazine founded in Dubai that covers developments in photography and new media from the Arab world. By expanding our appreciation and understanding of the variety of photographic practices creatively deployed by artists from throughout the Arab world, Tribe aims to place these accomplished artists on a global stage within the larger sphere of contemporary photography.

American University Museum

 

Nov. 10 to Feb. 10

Rodarte

The celebrated American luxury fashion house Rodarte, founded by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, are featured in the first fashion exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The display explores the distinctive design principles, material concerns and reoccurring themes that position the Mulleavys' work within the landscape of contemporary art and fashion. Spanning the first 13 years of Rodarte, nearly 100 complete looks, presented as they were shown on the runway, will highlight selections from their most pivotal collections.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

 

Through Nov. 13

Fernando de Szyszlo: A Memory

This exhibition features works by Peruvian master Fernando de Szyszlo from the AMA's permanent collection and archival papers and clippings documenting Szyszlo's longtime relationship with the museum. It marks the one-year anniversary of the artist's death. However, rather than being a tribute assembled "in memory" of him, this exhibit's focus is "a memory" — that of Szyszlo as documented and illuminated by his work, which paved the way for the next generation of artists looking to re-energize modern art in Peru.

OAS Art Museum of the Americas

 

Through Nov. 18

Recovered Memories: Spain and the Support for the American Revolution

"Recovered Memories" showcases Spain's support for the American colonies prior to and during the Revolutionary War, and also highlights notable Spanish figures whose lives impacted the emerging new country. The exhibit takes the visitor on a chronological journey of Spanish-American relations beginning with Spain's own Age of Enlightenment during the reign of Charles III, through the times of European and American revolutions, and ending with the technological advancements at the turn of the 20th century.

Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain

 

Through Nov. 25

Bound to Amaze: Inside a Book-Collecting Career

Curator Emerita Krystyna Wasserman assembled NMWA's collection of more than 1,000 artists' books over a 30-year period. This focus exhibition celebrates her vision and features 20 notable artists' books from the museum's expansive collection.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

 

Through Nov. 25

Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch rose to greatness from the riches of the sea. During the 17th century, water was central to their economic and naval successes, but was also a source of pleasure and enjoyment. This exhibition explores the deep, multifaceted relationship the Dutch had with the water, including their gratitude for the sea's bounty and their fear of its sometimes destructive power.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Dec. 16

Studio 54 Forever

Studio 54 was and arguably remains the world's most iconic discotheque. It opened in 1977 in New York City as disco music was reaching its peak. The establishment attracted celebrities, politicians, artists and the cultural avant garde. On the Studio 54 dance floor, everyone was a star. Take a journey back in time through the lens of acclaimed Swedish photographer Hasse Persson, whose images provide an intimate, sometimes provocative look at the cultural moment that would become the stuff of legend.

House of Sweden

 

Through Dec. 16

Without Provenance: The Making of Contemporary Antiquity

Artist Jim Sanborn provides a critique of the contemporary art market that sells stolen or forged antiquities. The artist's imagined world, which would make complete sense to an ancient Roman, is one wherein the skilled artist-craftsmen of contemporary Cambodia (who we now call forgers and who muddle the art market) would be understood to be what they are: gifted copyists. Their works would be bought for what they are — copies — and valued for what they offer: powerful evocations of the artistic genius of Khmer art of the distant past.

American University Museum

 

Through Dec. 25

Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts

More than 300 works of art from the museum's permanent collection are on view within this exhibition. Working in media as diverse as wood, ceramics, drawing, jewelry, mixed media, sculpture, painting, photography, printmaking, and video, these works of art reflect the visionary ideas and styles developed by men and women from more than half of Africa's 55 nations. The installation is organized around seven viewpoints, each of which serve to frame and affect the manner in which African art is experienced.

National Museum of African Art

 

Through Dec. 31

Corot: Women

Camille Corot is best known as the great master of landscape painting in the 19th century. His figure paintings constitute a much smaller, less well-known portion of his oeuvre, but arguably are of equal importance to the history of art. Dressed in rustic Italian costume or stretched nude on a grassy plain, Corot's women read, dream, and gaze, conveying a mysterious sense of inner life. His sophisticated use of color and his deft, delicate touch applied to the female form resulted in pictures of quiet majesty.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 6

Churchill's Shakespeare

A towering leader during World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was also a lifelong admirer of Shakespeare. Compelling materials from Cambridge's Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill's home Chartwell, and the Folger collection show the man himself and trace Shakespeare's influence on his speeches and ideas.

Folger Shakespeare Library

 

Through Jan. 6

Sense of Humor

Humor may be fundamental to human experience, but its expression in painting and sculpture has been limited. Instead, prints, as the most widely distributed medium, and drawings, as the most private, have been the natural vehicles for comic content. Drawn from the National Gallery of Art's collection, this exhibition celebrates this incredibly rich though easily overlooked tradition through works including Renaissance caricatures, biting English satires, and 20th-century comics.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 6

Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen

Trevor Paglen is an award-winning artist whose work blurs the lines between art, science and investigative journalism to construct unfamiliar and at times unsettling ways to see and interpret the world. This is the first exhibition to present Paglen's early photographic series alongside his recent sculptural objects and new work with artificial intelligence.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

 

Through Jan. 13

Fabergé Rediscovered

Designed to delight and surprise, the treasures created by the firm of Carl Fabergé have inspired admiration and intrigue for over a century, both for their remarkable craftsmanship and the captivating stories that surround them. The fascination with Fabergé continues to uncover new discoveries about the storied jeweler to the tsars and his remarkable creations. This exhibit unveils recent research and explore how the 2014 discovery of a long-lost imperial Easter egg prompted new findings about Hillwood's own collection.

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

 

Through Jan. 13

Nordic Impressions

"Nordic Impressions" is a major survey of Nordic art spanning nearly 200 years and presenting 53 artists from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the self-governing islands of Åland, Faroe and Greenland. The exhibition celebrates the incredible artistic diversity of Nordic art, from idealized paintings of the distinctive Nordic light and untouched landscape to melancholic portraits in quiet interiors and mesmerizing video works that explore the human condition.

The Phillips Collection

 

Through Jan. 13

Rachel Whiteread

As the first comprehensive survey of the work of British sculptor Rachel Whiteread, this exhibition brings together some 100 objects from the course of the artist's 30-year career, including drawings, photographs, architecture-scaled sculptures, archival materials, documentary materials on public projects and several new works on view for the first time. Throughout her celebrated career, Whiteread has effectively recast the memories of these locations and objects to chart the seismic changes in how we live, from the late 20th century and into the 21st.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 20

The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy

Chiaroscuro woodcuts — color prints made from the successive printing of multiple blocks — flourished in 16th-century Italy, interpreting designs by leading masters such as Raphael, Parmigianino and Titian, while boasting extraordinary craft and their own often striking palette.

National Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 21

Japan Modern: Photography from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection

Celebrating the Freer|Sackler's recent acquisition of a major Japanese photography collection, this exhibition features a selection of works by groundbreaking 20th-century photographers. Whether capturing evocative landscapes or the gritty realities of postwar Japan, this presentation focuses on Japanese artists' search for a sense of place in a rapidly changing country. The images highlight destinations both rural and urban, in styles ranging from powerful social documentary to intensely personal.

Freer Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 21

Japan Modern: Prints in the Age of Photography

When photography arrived in Japan in the mid-19th century, traditional woodblock printmakers were forced to adapt their craft to keep pace with the new medium. This exhibition explores Japanese artists' reactions to the challenges of modernity, examining the collapse of the traditional woodblock-printmaking industry in the face of the printing press and photography, and then tracing the medium's resurrection as an art form, through which printmakers recorded scenes of their changing country in striking new ways.

Freer Gallery of Art

 

Through Jan. 21

No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man

Each year in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, a city of more than 70,000 people rises out of the dust for a single week. During that time, enormous experimental art installations are erected and many are ritually burned to the ground. Cutting-edge artwork created at Burning Man, the annual desert gathering that is one of the most influential events in contemporary art and culture, will be exhibited in the nation's capital for the first time this spring.

Renwick Gallery

 

Through Jan. 29

Vested Values

"Vested Values," a selection comprising more than 40 works of various Mexican contemporary artists, explores the representation of nature and its sociocultural environment. Each of the works reveals how particular methods of production, implementation and execution of contemporary art can offer a complex impression of the diverse elements that define a society, which in turn promotes a continuous dialogue on both experience and perception. Each of the works originates through an arrangement with Mexico's Tax Administration Service that allows Mexican artists to pay their taxes with their artwork. Today, artists can pay their income tax using media that ranges from digital art to photography.

Mexican Cultural Institute

 

Through Feb. 3

Sean Scully: Landline

Sean Scully's "Landline" series, which first captivated international audiences at the 56th Venice Biennale, will make its museum debut at the Hirshhorn, featuring never-before-seen artworks from the renowned series. With thick, gestural brushstrokes and loose bands of color, the works look toward the land, sea, and sky (and the indistinct lines between them) to navigate the elemental relationships that compose our world.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

 

Through Feb. 8

Roberto Fernandez Ibañez: Visions and Reflections

Curated by Fabián Goncalves Borrega, this exhibition features four of Uruguayan artist Roberto Fernandez Ibañez's photographic series addressing the human impact on the environment: Earthy Resilience, Melting Point, The Hand and Rara Avis. His photographic material not only changes when it is exposed to light, but it can also be transformed, tuned and textured by techniques and laboratory processes. Fernandez Ibañez says he harnesses the environment's capabilities to transform to shape his own artwork.

OAS Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery

 

Through May 20, 2020

Waterfall

The Hirshhorn presents the largest site-specific exhibition to date by the acclaimed abstract painter Pat Steir. An expansive new suite of the artist's signature "Waterfall" paintings spans the entire perimeter of the museum's second-floor inner-circle galleries, extending nearly 400 linear feet. The 28 large-scale paintings, when presented together as a group, will create an immense color wheel that shifts hues with each painting, with the pours on each canvas often appearing in the complementary hue of the monochrome background.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

 

Through Sept. 29, 2019

Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women

In the cities of the West African nation of Senegal, stylish women have often used jewelry as part of an overall strategy of exhibiting their elegance and prestige. Rooted in the Wolof concept of sañse (dressing up, looking and feeling good), "Good as Gold" examines the production, display, and circulation of gold in Senegal as it celebrates a significant gift of gold jewelry to the National Museum of African Art's collection.

National Museum of African Art

 

Through September 2019

Shaping Clay in Ancient Iran

Potters in ancient Iran were fascinated by the long-beaked waterfowl and rams with curled horns around them. This exhibition of ceramics produced in northwestern Iran highlights animal-shaped vessels as well as jars and bowls decorated with animal figures.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

 

DANCE

Nov. 2 to 3

Ragamala Dance Company: Written in Water

Acclaimed as one of the diaspora's leading Bharatanatyam ensembles, Ragamala Dance Company returns to the Kennedy Center with its latest work, "Written in Water," a large-scale multi-disciplinary work with dance, music, text and painting that provides an allegory of human's constant search for transcendence. Tickets are $39.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

 

Through Nov. 4

Contemporary Masters

The Washington Ballet will showcase its range of ability and depth of versatility in a program that pays tribute to the 20th century's most accomplished American modern choreographers: Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor. Tickets are $25 to $125.

Harman Center for the Arts

 

Fri., Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.

The New Chinese Acrobats

Get ready for stunning feats of strength and flexibility from this amazing company, created in collaboration with the world-famous Cirque Eloize. Representing the evolution of Chinese acrobats, this group mixes new techniques and ancient Chinese folk art traditions for one awe-inspiring act after another. Tickets are $24 to $54.

Music Center at Strathmore

 

Nov. 9 to 10

Malavika Sarukkai: Thari – The Loom

Last seen at the Kennedy Center in 2013, Malavika Sarukkai presents her latest production, which delves into the history and legacy of the sari, the hand-woven "unstitched garment" from India. Tickets are $49.

Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

 

DISCUSSIONS

Sat., Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

The Magnificent Cities of Russia

Four great cities — Kiev, Novgorod, Moscow and St. Petersburg — have given the country that became Russia much of its character. Historian George E. Munro explores their history, culture and signature sites. Tickets are $140; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

 

Nov. 7 to Dec. 5

The Art of India: From the Indus Valley to Independence

From its origins in the ancient civilization along the Indus River to the present, the complex culture of South Asia has given rise to some of the world's most remarkable artistic creations. In four sessions, Robert DeCaroli of George Mason University highlights the artistic traditions and historical changes within the Indian subcontinent from the earliest archaeological evidence to the onset of colonialism. Tickets are $140; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

 

Thu., Nov. 8, 6 p.m.

Zlin Animation

Animation is a game packed with fantasy that should not only be entertaining to the viewer, but also to its author. Lukáš Gregor, head of the Department of Animation at Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic, presents a look inside the animator's studio and animation methods. He will showcase a colorful selection of student animation exercises and work. Admission is free but reservations are required and can be made at https://zlinanimation.eventbrite.com.

Embassy of the Czech Republic

 

Thu., Nov. 29, 6:45 p.m.

Magical Prague: The Crown of Bohemia

Lose yourself in Prague, city of a hundred spires, as cultural historian Ursula Wolfman takes you on a virtual tour along its medieval cobblestone lanes and dark passageways, past its many churches and synagogues, into the heart of a city dominated by the magnificent Hradcany, the 1,100-year-old castle complex. Tickets are $45; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

S. Dillon Ripley Center

 

FESTIVALS

Through Nov. 4

Kids Euro Festival

Now in its 11th year, the Kids Euro Festival is one of the largest performing arts festivals for children in America, bringing Europe's most talented children's entertainers to the D.C. metro area each fall for two weeks of free performances, concerts, workshops, movies, storytelling, puppetry, dance, magic and cinema. "Over more than 80 fun kids' activities will be presented by the member states of the European Union, together with more than 20 local and national cultural institutions," says EU Ambassador David O'Sullivan. Highlights this year include the 60th anniversary celebration of the Smurfs presented by Belgium; "United in Music," a performance at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage by a Latvian youth choir composed of both students with and without hearing impairments; a performance of "Angelina, a Contemporary Cinderella," with Italian opera singers at the Shakespeare Theatre; and KEEN Day featuring a full day of events for children with disabilities. With programs both for the general public and for school groups, more than 10,000 D.C.-area children and their families enjoy Kids Euro Festival programs each year. For information, visit www.kidseurofestival.org.

Various locations

 

Oct. 31 to Nov. 4

Superfine! Art Fair

Fun, approachable and chock full of art by local and global emerging artists, Superfine! DC descends on the capital for a fall art spectacular the likes of which the District has never before seen. The art fair that's built its chops in New York and Miami by serving up a clear, transparent new art market friendly to both longtime collectors and newbies is bringing its unique formula to D.C. with over 300 visual artists, who will present new contemporary artwork throughout 74 curated booths, and with price points beginning below $100 and 75 percent of works available below $5,000. Tickets are $12 to $55; for information visit https://superfine.world/.

Union Market Dock 5

 

Sat., Nov. 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Czech Christmas Market

The Embassy of the Czech Republic presents a traditional Czech Christmas Market featuring beautiful handcrafted ornaments, renowned Czech crystal and glass products, and exquisite jewelry. Enjoy the taste and smell of mulled wine and eggnog as well as an assortment of Christmas cookies, baked goods and savory cuisine. Children will be treated to an array of live animals from the Nativity scene. The children's choir of Sokol Washington will also perform Czech Christmas carols at 11 am. Admission is free.

Embassy of the Czech Republic

 

MUSIC

Fri., Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.

Ricardo Cobo, Classical Colombian Guitarist

Colombia guitarist Ricardo Cobo's versatility can be heard in his award-winning solo recordings of classical and children's music, as well as his orchestral and crossover recordings in collaboration with jazz and classical musicians. His "Guitar Lullaby," currently on its third printing, was awarded the American Library Association's highest recognition for children's music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical guitar audio experiences on CD. Tickets are $150, including buffet reception and valet parking; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Colombian Ambassador's Residence

 

Mon., Nov. 12, 8 p.m.

Danish String Quartet

Already well-known as masters of traditional classical repertoire — as a rapt Washington Performing Arts audience experienced in an unforgettable 2017 performance — the Danish String Quartet are passionately committed to sharing folk music from their home country, as heard on two highly popular albums of old Nordic melodies and dances, "Wood Works" and "Last Leaf." Tickets are $35.

Sixth & I

 

Thu., Nov. 15, 7 p.m.

Yi-Yang Chen, Piano

Taiwanese pianist Yi-Yang Chen, the 2017 winner of the Washington International Piano Competition, will perform a program of Haydn, Villa Lobos, Chopin, Granados, Dehn, Alwyn and Hsiao at the Arts Club of Washington, a national treasure that is the former home of President James Monroe. Tickets are $65, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Arts Club of Washington

 

Sun., Nov. 18, 2 p.m.

The Washington Chorus: Brahm and Britten

The Washington Chorus begins its 58th season with Johannes Brahms's magnificent "A German Requiem, Op. 45" and Benjamin Britten's "Ballad of Heroes." Tickets are $18 to $72.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall

 

Mon., Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.

Miriam Rodriguez Brüllová, Guitar
Dalibor Karvay, Violin

Guitarist Miriam Rodriguez Brüllová and violinist Dalibor Karvay — 2009 winner of the Slovak Minister of Culture prize for his international interpretation of Slovak interpretative arts — have both performed with orchestras in countries around the world. Tickets are $95, including buffet and wine; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Embassy of Slovakia

 

Thu., Nov. 29, 8 p.m.

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) will be embarking on its first U.S. tour, the MPO Valletta 2018 Tour, celebrating both its 50th anniversary and the World Heritage UNESCO site of Valletta, the European Capital of Culture 2018. The MPO will be led by the famous conductor Sergey Smbatyan, and the concert opens with a performance of "Rebbieħa," a symphonic poem penned by Gozitan composer Joseph Vella. The MPO will also perform the work of famous modern American-Maltese composer Alexey Shor, with Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder, before wrapping up with Dmitri Shostakovich's famous Fifth Symphony. Tickets are $55 to $85.

The Music Center at Strathmore

 

Fri., Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.

Elham Fanoos, Piano

Elham Fanoos is 21 years old and a native of Kabul. He has been playing music from the age of 5, when he began to study the tabla. In seventh grade, he enrolled in the Afghan National Institute of Music, where he learned to play the piano. Fanoos is also an aspiring composer and has composed five pieces of his own, including four preludes and a sonata, which he and his teachers have performed internationally. Now he's studying piano performance at Hunter College. Tickets are $125, including an Afghan buffet; for information, visit www.embassyseries.org.

Afghan Ambassador's Residence

 

THEATER

Nov. 2 to Dec. 23

Anything Goes

Cole Porter's madcap seafaring musical features some of musical theater's most memorable standards, such as "I Get a Kick Out of You" and the title song, "Anything Goes." Tickets are $51 to $105.

Arena Stage

 

Through Nov. 4

The Fever

Performed in complete collaboration with the audience, "The Fever" begins as a simple story about an ordinary party and evolves into a spellbinding examination of how we assemble, organize, and care for the bodies around us. Please call for ticket information.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

 

Through Nov. 4

Sleepy Hollow

Synetic Theater's adaptation of "Sleepy Hollow" pulls together all the elements that made Synetic famous: Gothic horror, iconic characters and imagery, an emphasis on surreal, wordless storytelling that transcends spoken language and makes our productions something akin to live-action dreams (or nightmares, depending on the story). Tickets start at $35.

Synetic Theater

 

Nov. 5 to 25

A Woman of No Importance

Scena's Theatre's take on Oscar Wilde's classic battle of the sexes includes an all-female cast. This timeless power struggle between men and women is set against the backdrop of 1930s Hollywood — when Tinsel Town was both American and British. Tickets are $35 to $45.

Atlas Performing Arts Center

 

Nov. 10 to 25

Washington National Opera: Silent Night

As Christmas Eve falls on a World War I battlefield, enemy soldiers step into no-man's land for one miraculous night of peace. Based on the true story and 2005 film, "Silent Night" features Pulitzer Prize-winning music in multiple languages, capturing humanity and hope amidst a devastating war. Tickets are $35 to $199.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

 

Nov. 14 to Dec. 16

Cry It Out

Jessie is a corporate lawyer in a Manhattan firm. Lina is a community-college dropout and born-and-bred Long Islander. They don't seem to have anything in common, but marooned at home with infants, they strike up a fast friendship. Tickets are $20 to $80.

The Studio Theatre

 

Through Nov. 18

Actually

This provocative new play that explores the timely subject of sexual consent between young people. Tom, a black first-year Princeton student, and Amber, a Jewish first-year Princeton student, seem to be on the same page about where their relationship is heading, until suddenly they aren't. What begins as a casual hook up turns into a Title IX hearing in which both students have everything to lose. Tickets are $34 to $64.

Theater J

 

Through Nov. 18

Aida

Brilliantly brought to life by the legendary musical duo behind "The Lion King," "Aida" is a timeless story of star-crossed lovers set in ancient Egypt. The handsome but arrogant Radames and his soldiers return to Egypt following a successful conquest of the nation's longtime enemy, Nubia. Having unwittingly captured the Nubian princess Aida, they force her into slavery in the royal palace. Though Radames is reluctantly engaged to the Pharaoh's vain and materialistic daughter, he and Aida find themselves passionately drawn to each other. As their forbidden love intensifies, Aida must choose between her heart's desire and her responsibility to her people in this production presented by Constellation Theatre Company. Tickets are $25 to $55.

Source Theater

 

Through Nov. 18

The Fall

As the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes was dismantled at the University of Cape Town, seven students wrote "The Fall," charting their experiences as activists who brought down a statue and then grappled with decolonizing what was left standing in its wake: the legacies of race, class, gender, history and power 24 years after the official end of Apartheid. Please call for ticket information.

Studio Theatre

 

Through Nov. 18

Sing to Me Now

Calliope is the last surviving Muse. Drowning in the demands of a world desperate for inspiration, she resorts to what any self-respecting Greek Goddess would do: She hires an intern. Soon it becomes clear that Calliope is burying a deeper pain, and the fate of the universe may lie in this human intern's unlikely ability to save her. Tickets are $30.

Atlas Performing Arts Center

 

Nov. 20 to Dec. 23

An Inspector Calls

Winner of 19 major accolades, the award-winning production of J.B. Priestley's classic thriller "An Inspector Calls" will kick off a four-city U.S. tour at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Set simultaneously in 1912, post-war society and modern day at the home of the Birlings, a well-heeled British family, the story follows a festive celebration that is suddenly punctured by a mysterious visitor: a grim inspector investigating the death of a young woman. As questions multiply and guilt mounts, the Birlings's entanglement in the affair shatters the foundations of their comfortable lives. Please call for ticket information.

The Shakespeare Theatre

 

Nov. 23 to Dec. 30

Indecent

Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama "The God of Vengeance," and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Tickets are $41 to $95.

Arena Stage

 

Through Nov. 25

Anastasia

Inspired by the beloved films, the romantic and adventure-filled new musical "Anastasia" finally comes to Washington. From the Tony Award-winning creators of the Broadway classic "Ragtime," this dazzling show transports us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s. Tickets are $49 to $175.

Kennedy Center Opera House

 

Nov. 28 to Dec. 1

World Stages: Barber Shop Chronicles

Set in barbershops in Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra and London, "Barber Shop Chronicles" welcomes you into this unique, intimate community where African men gather to discuss the world and their lives. Tickets are $29 to $99.

Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

 

Through Dec. 2

King John

Secret deals. Threats of mass destruction. Shifting loyalties. Folger Theatre follows its sold-out run of "Macbeth" with "King John," Shakespeare's rarely performed history play chronicling King John's turbulent reign from 1199 to 1216. Tickets are $30 to $85.

Folger Theatre

 

Through Jan. 6

Billy Elliot the Musical

Based on the powerful and acclaimed film, all 11-year-old Billy wants to do is dance. Initially facing opposition from society and his father, Billy's passion instead unites the community and changes his life in extraordinary ways. Please call for ticket information.

Signature Theatre